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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Suitor joins Shamrocks

The Victoria Shamrocks acquired the rights to Andrew Suitor from the Ajax-Pickering Rock of Major Series Lacrosse.

"Andrew is one of the most exciting prospects to come around in a long time," Shamrocks general manager Chris Welch said. "He's a very special player with tremendous grit and character. He is incredibly versatile, plays both ends of the floor and takes draws. He's tough as nails, he's a natural leader and the ultimate team guy who will do anything to help his team win. He brings an intense, physical presence and he immediately makes us better."

The 6' 0", 190 pound right handed defense/transition specialist was an assistant captain with the Orangeville Northmen OLA Junior A squad, where he led them to back-to-back Minto Cup championships in 2008 and 2009. In 174 regular season and playoff games with the Northmen, Suitor scored 71 goals and added 151 assists for 222 points to go along with 669 minutes in penalties.

He was recently drafted fourth overall in the Major Series Lacrosse draft by Ajax. Welch says Suitor was highly coveted by a number of teams.

"I've never seen anything like it," Welch said. "All the top teams in Canada were after him because they see all the same things in him that we do. We were very determined in our pursuit and at the end of the day, it paid off and we landed the big prize. We know every team in the country would love to have him in their lineup and we couldn't be more thrilled to have him in ours."

Suitor is currently in his rookie season with the National Lacrosse League's Minnesota Swarm, who selected him fourth overall in the 2010 draft. So far this season he has registered three assists in eight games played and racked up 34 minutes in penalties. He leads the Swarm with 55 loose balls and is leading all league rookies in faceoffs.

He is expected to join the Shamrocks in early June after representing England at the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships in Prague.

Welch said, while it is a one-year deal with Ajax to start, it includes an option to be extended.

"The way we structured the deal is that if Andrew chooses to stay with us in 2012, and I'm very confident he will, we'll have his full release at that point," Welch said. "We plan to have Andrew in the green and white for many years to come and we'll continue to build around him."